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Update on continuous peaceful protests and sit outs in Abuja and the renewed efforts of Nigerian authorities to label the Islamic Movement of Nigeria as violent and terrorist in a bid to swing public opinion and restrain the growing momentum of the peaceful #FreeZakzaky campaign.

Below please find an update on continuous peaceful protests and sit outs in Abuja and the renewed efforts of the Nigerian authorities to label the Islamic Movement of Nigeria as violent and terrorist in a bid to swing public opinion and restrain the growing momentum of the peaceful #FreeZakzaky campaign.

We request campaigners to continue with the last two weeks' action alert. IHRC has sent a letter to the Nigerian High Commissioner in London and offered to host Sheikh Zakzaky for medical treatment in the UK. Other organisations in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Netherlands and Turkey are sending similar letters to the Nigerian Embassy / High Commission in their countries. We request all campaigning organisations to send similar letters and offer to host Sheikh Zakzaky for medical treatment in your country. Individual campaigners please keep on praying for the Sheikh. his wife and all detainees and demand their immediate release. Two model letters are provided in the action alert, one for organisations and one for individual campaigners.

To find out more about the Zaria massacre, read IHRC’s submission to the International Criminal Court HERE

To find out how you can help further please visit the IHRC FreeZakzaky campaign page HERE

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Free Zakzaky!

ACTION ALERT FOR THE ORGANISATIONS: Demand immediate release and offer to host Sheikh Zakzaky in your country for medical treatment.

Campaigners / Organisations are requested to demand meeting with local Nigerian Embassy and offer to host Sheikh Zakzaky for urgent medical treatment in your country, using the model letter below.

Model letterPlease adapt the model below and forward any response you receive to IHRC on info@ihrc.org.Click on following link to find the name, address and contact details of the relevant diplomat in your country:https://www.embassypages.com/nigeriaIf you are emailing, please use the following in the subject line:MEETING TO DISCUSS URGENT MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR SHEIKH ZAKZAKY

We are writing to you to raise our concerns about the continued detention of Mu’allim Ibrahim Zakzaky, head of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN).

I am sure you are aware that Shaykh Zakzaky’s house was demolished and he was injured and arrested by the Nigerian military on 14 December 2015, and has been held since without any charges or a trial. Shaykh Zakzaky, whose health has rapidly deteriorated, is in need of special medical attention. Since his arrest, Shaykh Zakzaky has lost his sight in one eye and the use of one arm. Shaykh Zakzaky also suffered a stroke earlier this year which has further aggravated his dire condition.

The courts ordered Shaykh Zakzaky’s release and he should have been free since 15 January 2017, unfortunately the security services have continued to detain him contrary to court order.

Shaykh Zakzaky’s condition requires specialist medical attention and will need to go abroad to get the necessary treatment. We Name organization is happy to host Shaykh Zakzaky and his wife in Name Country and we will cover all the costs involved, including his travel, accommodation, medical expenses as well as any other expenses that may arise from the trip.

This matter has now dragged on for two years and has become a major blemish on Nigeria’s good name in the international arena. We urge you to use all your powers and influence to help bring about a swift and peaceful resolution.

We would like to request a meeting to discuss this matter further. Please provide a date and time you will be available to discuss how this matter can be resolved.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

NAME

ACTION ALERT FOR INDIVIDUAL CAMPAIGNERS: Demand urgent medical treatment for Sheikh ZakzakyCampaigners are asked to write to or email the Nigeria President and the Nigerian Ambassador or High Commissioner in your country, using the model letter below.

Model letterPlease adapt the model below depending on who you are sending it to. The addresses and salutations you need are presented below the model. Please forward any response you receive to IHRC on info@ihrc.org.

If you are emailing, please use the following in the subject line:URGENT MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR SHEIKH ZAKZAKY[Your name][Your address][Date]

[Insert name / address ofPerson you are sending this to]

Dear [insert name],I write to demand that Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife Mallima Zeenah are allowed to leave the country for urgent medical treatment.The continued detention of both of these figures as well as hundreds of others has been a huge stain on the reputation of your government and Nigeria. By not allowing Sheikh Zakzaky and Mallima Zeenah, whose health continues to severely deteriorate as a result of injuries inflicted by your authorities, the medical treatment he needs, you are adding further evidence of your government’s inhumanity and cruelty.I look forward to your confirmation of their release for treatment by return.Your sincerely,[Your signature if posting][Your name]

Addresses and salutations

(i) President Muhammadu BuhariH.E. President Muhammadu BuhariPresident of the Federal Republic of NigeriaOffice of the PresidentAso Rock, AbujaNigeriaYou can submit an email by this form but this page often does not work:https://statehouse.gov.ng/contacts/

(ii) Nigerian Ambassador / High Commissioner in your countryPlease find the name, address and contact details of the relevant diplomat in your country here:https://www.embassypages.com/nigeria

It was a full house of sobs and wailing on 17th day of free Zakzaky Daily Sit Out in Abuja as the Volunteer Unit of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, popularly called Hurras took the centre stage highlighting how their members were affected by the Zaria massacre of December 2015.

In one account, a sole survivor in a party of some thirty travellers in two buses from Bargi in Kano state, narrated how they were intercepted at Dogarawa in the outskirts of Zaria on their way to Hussainiyyah to attend the flag hoisting, and were all killed in cold blood. He was himself thought dead until it became clear that he survived it. Pictures of the 29 victims were displayed for all to see.

Having the largest number of victims than any other forum of the Movement, the Hurras came in their numbers to highlight hundreds of their victims...

Osteoarthritis: My Mother’s Ordeal01 February 2018 by Mohammed Ibrahim ZakzakyIn my mother’s case she is suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee joints. In the past two years she has been living in constant and increasingly unceasing and excruciating pain...Of course there was no way I could have known that, since this is the first time that a doctor has been allowed unrestricted access in order to properly assess the situation, it’s also the first time I the son of my mother has been able to know the doctor’s opinion on the health of my parents. The doctor also discovered that the reason my mother had been suffering from increasingly frequent stomach pains has been the fact that a foreign object had been left lodged inside her since December 2015. Through various tests the doctor has determined that it must be a pellet from a bullet. Why this malicious object was left there in the first place, or what more disease it will cause is unclear. My mother’s voice has already changed for the worse...

A fresh suit has been instituted today Wednesday 31st January, 2018 at the Abuja Federal High Court against the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Abuja Commissioner of Police and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) over the enforcement of the fundamental rights of members of the Islamic Movement in the FCT.

This followed the brutal attacks of the past few weeks by the Nigerian police when members of the Islamic Movement in carried out series of an otherwise peaceful processions in Abuja seeking for the release of the leader...

Islamic Movement Emerges Victorious At FHC Sokoto31 January 2018he members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria living in Sokoto have all the rights to practice their religion without any forms of molestations from the Sokoto State government, security agents or any of their agents, including police, army or state security services. This followed judgement delivered today at the Federal high court sitting in Sokoto...

Medical Team Tell Their Story: We were Killed Trying To Save Lives31 January 2018The Medical Team of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria otherwise called ISMA had the floor on the 15thday of the daily Free Zakzaky Sit Out at the Unity Fountain Abuja to feature how their members coped with thousands of victims of the horrendous attacks during the Zaria massacre until they themselves became the victims.ISMA revealed how the Nigerian Army massacred several of their members, while on duty in both Hussainiyyah and Gyellesu, the major sites of the genocide...

There appears to be some renewed efforts by the government and its agents and agencies to indelibly label the Movement as "violent and terrorist" as a means of "finally nailing the coffin once and for all." By this evil design, the free Zakzaky campaign now gaining momentum and indeed the Movement, will be done away with finality.

This is a multi-faceted scheme with involvement of agents at various levels and layers.

Recently, the Federal Attorney General, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN, gave an indication that proved that some sinister motives were behind their refusal to obey court judgement, when he hid under the cover of what he termed "public interest" as against the tag of "protective custody" they initially used.

The bait here is to initiate some very alarming disruption of public peace in the name of the Islamic Movement...

Yet Another Massive Free Zakzaky Procession In Abuja29 January 2018Today on 29 January 2018 brothers and sisters staged another peaceful #FreeZakzaky protest in capital city Abuja to demand immediate release of their leader Sheikh Zakzaky for immediate medical treatment.

Tears fell from the cheeks of so many people once again today when two sisters took the stage at the daily sit out at the Unity Fountain Abuja to tell their touching stories of how they survived the brutal massacre in Zaria and the near hell they went through in the hands of the Nigerian army.

While speaking about what she went through, “bullets poured down on us as the rains fell from the sky on the roofs,” she said.

From The Twitter Team Of Islamic Movement - About Sheikh Zakzaky's Health28 January 2018 - Muhammad Darazo Admin Islamic Movement Twitter TeamDear brothers and sister, I don't know how to explain this in a better way, but I will try. I received a call this night and I was told about Sheikh Zakzaky's worsening health and that of his wife. Recall that Sheikh Zakzaky's left eye was shot and gone. The remaining eye is in serious danger, especially now.

Before the Zaria massacre which cost the eye of Sheikh Zakzaky, he was using +1 or +1.5 glasses (sometimes) for reading. Since after the inhumane Zaria massacre, Sheikh Zakzaky's eye is deteriorating to an extent that he now have to be using +9 glasses for reading. Now, even the +9 glasses cannot help, he has to sometimes use a X5 Magnifier to read! (In case you don't know what is a magnifier is, it means he is using +45 glasses)! This means his sight is 1/ 45 of what it used to be! And this is for one eye only because the other is gone!!!! The Sheikh cannot differentiate between day and night.

On the other hand, the health of Malama Zeenah, Sheikh's wife is also deteriorating. Recall that she was shot multiple times by the Nigerian Army during Zaria massacre and one of the bullets still remain in her body and is causing her excessive pain!

Before the Zaria massacre, we are aware that Malama Zeenah has some problems with her knees. As of then, some doctors advised for a knee replacement. But advised for a little delay in the operation because there is still remaining cartilage in the knees. But due to prolonged detention and a refusal by the medical director of DSS to allow for a lubricating injection the remaining cartilage is totally exhausted. Now, the oppressed mother find it difficult to walkThe only thing that can be done now is knee replacement.

Both the Sheikh and his wife are having high blood pressure and it is getting worse day by day. The Buhari Government is doing nothing about it even though the doctors suggested a professional medical treatment abroad, but the Government is not doing anything about it.

I therefore urge people who care about the Sheikh to keep protesting from wherever they are in the world and to also encourage more people to protest. Remember the message of Sheikh Zakzaky to you. *"Tell My Story*."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------IHRC is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

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